Dubai: Google-owned video platform YouTube opened a "YouTube Space" in Dubai, the first-of-its-kind in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Located at Dubai Studio City, the YouTube facility aims "to support the growing creator community in the MENA region by giving them access to a state-of-the-art production space," Xinhua cited state news agency WAM as saying.

The space, which is the tenth in the world, is dedicated to YouTube content creators who would have free access to high-end audio, visual and editing equipment in addition to training programmes, workshops and courses.

More than 440,000 creators have visited the nine YouTube Space facilities around the world since the programme was first launched in 2012, said David Ripert, Head of YouTube Spaces in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

"Creators are the heartbeat of YouTube and supporting them has long been one of our most important priorities," Ripert was quoted as saying.

"As a platform, YouTube provides a blank canvas for creative expression and the Space will be one of the tools creators use to tell their own stories," Ripert noted.

The MENA region has more than 200 YouTube channels with over a million subscribers, and over 30,000 channels are subscribed by more than 10,000 users, Robert Kyncl, Chief Business Officer of YouTube, was quoted as saying.

The Arab world has experienced a 160-per cent increase in the number of channels uploaded from MENA countries in the past three years.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



New Delhi (PTI): A 32-year-old food delivery executive was stabbed to death when he allegedly intervened in a violent altercation between two groups in southwest Delhi's Dwarka, police said on Monday.

The deceased has been identified as Govind Jha, a resident of Mohan Garden.

Three others sustained stab injuries in the incident and are currently undergoing treatment at a hospital, they said.

Authorities also cautioned against attempts to give the incident a communal colour.

According to the police, Jha was on his way to work on Sunday night when he noticed a street fight taking place at Rajapuri in Madhu Vihar area of Dwarka. The altercation involved two men pitted against three others, who were later identified as Parvesh, Anish and Rohit.

"Jha stopped at the spot and attempted to intervene. During the scuffle, the two men allegedly pulled out knives and began stabbing Parvesh, Anish and Rohit. When Jha tried to intervene, he was also attacked," a police officer said.

All four injured persons were rushed to a nearby hospital, where Jha succumbed to his injuries during treatment. The other three men are under medical observation.

Police said the accused fled the spot after the incident, and multiple teams have been formed to identify and apprehend them.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Kushal Pal Singh, in a statement, said that some messages circulating on social media are attempting to give a communal angle to the incident.

"In the incident, four people suffered stab injuries and were admitted to the hospital. One person died at the hospital, and the remaining three are undergoing treatment. The victims belong to two different communities. The accused stabbed all four victims. Dwarka Police is conducting a search for the accused," the DCP said.

"There is no communal angle to the incident. Strict action will be taken against those spreading false information," he said.